Posts Tagged ‘2 Million Dogs’

Our beautiful 2014 “Cancer Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down” calendars are ready to pre-order here. Only $15.00 each, these calendars feature the photos and stories of this year’s top 13 winners, last year’s winners’ photos, and a gallery of all the dogs entered in this year’s calendar. Unique to our calendars you’ll also find special dog holidays like Canine Cancer Awareness Month (November), Squirrel Appreciation Day, What if Dogs and Cats Had Opposable Thumbs Day, K-9 Veterans Day, National Specially-Abled Pets Day, National Cancer Survivor’s Day, Rabies Awareness Month, and of course the regular people holidays as well. Also featured is a list of the “10 L” warning signs of cancer in your pet, and information about our nationwide Puppy Up! Walks and how to get involved.

Another feature unique to our calendar contests is that the top 13 winners get to decide the cancer study they would like to fund. This year’s calendar proceeds will again go to the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. Last year’s calendar’s winners decided to help fund a study in osteosarcoma, and this year the winners decided to help fund a study into mast cell tumors.

We know you’ll enjoy this year’s calendar! Please place your orders soon. They make great gifts, and are something you and your friends will treasure for years.

When his beloved Great Pyrenees Malcolm died of bone cancer at age 6, Luke Robinson resolved to learn why.

“I didn’t even know dogs could get cancer,” he said.

The nagging mystery would send Robinson walking over 2,000 miles from Austin, Texas, to Boston with his other two dogs to raise awareness for canine cancer. It would also inspire his launch of an organization devoted to finding an answer — through the discovery of links between dog and human tumors.

“Breast cancer was the first cancer we funded,” said Robinson, co-founder of the nonprofit 2 Million Dogs . “Under a microscope, a mammary tumor from a dog and from a person look the same.”

As the prolific pink ribbons seek to remind us this month, breast cancer’s grip remains strong and its reach ever-expanding. One in eight women in the U.S. will now face the diagnosis — a rise of 40 percent in just one generation.

Perhaps less well-known, however, is that most breast cancers are not hereditary and that cancer is the leading disease-related killer of dogs, with mammary tumors the most common type afflicting females. (Early spaying significantly reduces the risk of such tumors.) These facts, combined with mounting evidence of harm posed by certain chemicals used on carpets, couches, food bowls, squeaky toys and manicured lawns enjoyed by people and pets — has led some experts and advocates to recommend a shift in breast cancer research and funding.

Only about 10 percent of breast cancer research dollars are devoted to its environmental causes, according to a federal interagency report published in February.

Luke Robinson and his two dogs, Murphy and Hudson, peer from a tent during his canine cancer awareness walk from Austin, Tex. to Boston in 2008. (Marei Burnfield)

“Dogs drink our same water, they are exposed to the same toxins,” Robinson said. “The logical assumption is that indeed there is an environmental basis for these cancers. But a lot of research and funding comes from pharmaceutical companies. And there’s no money in cause and prevention.”

Overall, growing interest in canine cancer has led to new comparative oncology research at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University, with financial help from 2 Million Dogs. Investigators are treating shelter dogs that have developed mammary cancer, while gleaning information about the progression of the disease. The researchers hope to identify treatments that will benefit both dogs and humans.

Penn veterinarians previously studied dogs involved in September 11 search and rescue missions thought to be exposed to chemicals in the rubble. They found no elevated rates of major health problems in the decade after the attack.

To read the entire article by Huffington Post, please follow this link.

How many of you have heard these words? That diagnosis from Steve Withrow about Murphy’s nasal tumor still haunts my thoughts some two years post mortem.

2 Million Dogs is funding a two year, $80,000 drug delivery study with Animal Medical Center in Manhattan and Sloan Kettering.

The first phase of the study is urogenital cancer in dogs since, at the point of diagnosis, the prognosis is pretty grim. Less than 30% of bladder cancer patients respond to traditional treatment and since surgical intervention isn’t a viable option, the need for target therapeutics is essential.

We all know that dosing chemo in dogs is drastically less than that in humans and if we can get the right drug directly into the tumor, we may achieve therapeutic drug levels at 40X the current regimen. There are other potential benefits such as cost savings, but they are ancillary to our aims.

Speaking of… here’s my press release statement:

“It is an honor to work with two prestigious institutions in the fields of veterinarian medicine and cancer research. 2 Million Dogs’ scientific objectives in funding cancer studies are collaborative and comparative in both spirit and scope and this study is a shining example of that. Cancer touches us all. It is a cross species disease and now more than ever it is imperative for us work together to end this epidemic.”

More importantly, I’ve come to know the principal investigator, Chick, on a more personal level and I feel he has the vision, fortitude, and fire to make significant strides in the field of comparative oncology.

Twelve years ago today, the Twin Towers slipped from the sky and plummeted to earth as America watched in shock. As that once beautiful Autumn day wore on to evening, news outlets reported many people still trapped, slowing dying in the avalanche of metal. How did they know? Those people used cell phones to call their families from beneath the remains of the World Trade Center. One by one, they said final goodbyes as the last of their cell phone batteries blinked out.

No one yet knew the death toll would reach nearly 3,000. All the rescue teams could do was send help. That night as pictures and “Please help me find my son” and “Please help me find my daughter” flyers went up around NYC, help arrived at Ground Zero on four legs.

Several sets of four legs, to be exact.

Emergency workers had flooded the area with light, enabling them to pair with public volunteers in a desperate search for the living, but they needed help from something with better hearing and a better sense of smell than the average human being. They were helped by Moxie and Tara from Massachusetts, Guinness from California, Kaiser from Indianapolis, Bretagne from Texas, Red from Maryland, Hoke from Denver. It was a long shot to call in search and rescue dogs. As good as the dogs were, 9/11 was undeniably a large-scale tragedy.

Search-and-rescue dogs are trained to pick up certain scents on the ground and in the air. Well-trained search dogs have proven to be the fastest way to locate a victim in the aftermath of a disaster like an earthquake or hurricane. Disaster search-and-rescue dogs are trained to find people in incredibly unstable environments, where smoke or chemical smells might affect the results of the dog’s search.

Three hundred and eighteen search-and-rescue dogs were trained to find the living who may have survived 9/11. Unfortunately, the terrorist attacks were a true disaster, making it a fruitless search. Despite this, the dogs at Ground Zero were seen doing what dogs do so well– comforting the firemen and first responders during the darkest hours of their lives.

In total, 950 canine dog teams served in response to September 11, 2001. They served at Ground Zero, the Pentagon, and that field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Eleven years later, 2 Million Dogs remembers the day our best friends experienced alongside all in this great nation– and the sweet snuggles and tail wags as our tears rolled down.

We will never forget.

Read more about Retrieved, the book that honors the rescue dogs of 9/11.

To view a tribute to the search and rescue dogs of 9-11, please follow this link.

As I write this, summer is coming to a close. I’m fortunate that so far, 2013 has kept me busy working for you and this cause in the best of ways.

Faye Morgan.

In August, we posted stories of dogs who’d had cancer to our Facebook page, and you responded with words of comfort, shares, and votes in our calendar contest. Thank you. The 2 Million Dogs family continues to impress me with their dedication every day.

I lost another dog to cancer this summer — my beloved Faye (pictured). Like many of you, I let these experiences fuel my fire for this cause. I’m writing this to acknowledge that you are our best resource — your input, your stories, your comments, and your support. With that in mind, I’m pleased to announce that moving forward, I will personally update you on 2 Million Dogs, here on our blog in the coming months. I’ll share helpful tips and information about canine cancer, announce special events where you can participate or meet up with other supporters in our community, or update you on the latest and greatest with the cause.

As we support comparative oncology research, the leadership at 2 Million Dogs steadily seeks new ways to help you to spread the word about its importance and our mutual belief that a cure for cancer is out there. We get many comments that some of you want to participate in a walk but cannot, mainly due to prior commitments or bum knees.

Congratulations to the Winners and ALL of the Contestants in the 2014 Cancer Can’t Keep a Good Dog Down Calendar Contest!

Here’s the final count. Any votes that came in after the midnight EDT deadline did not apply.

Our top 13 winners are:

1

Trooper Collins

2140

2

Czar Viney

1460

3

Beta Yadao

1270

4

Gracie Calvo

1120

5

Blondie Henley

1000

6

Bentley Linaberry

1000

7

Molly Su Applegate

1000

8

Sheba Marie Pyle

960

9

Gracie Martin

940

10

Yukon Harris

900

11

Calamity Jane Rockwell

865

12

Kailech Cummins

785

13

Jigsaw Allgood

730

Also appearing in the Gallery Section will be:

Sunny Osborne

720

Pugsley Granberry

700

Maggie Snow-Cormier

660

Murphy Morris

640

Kyle Golz

510

Roscoe Behrle

510

Annie Graffunder

420

Eva Dupre

375

Shadow Wade

272

Merlin Miltner

225

Leela Decker

220

Guinnes Litt

185

Nestle Epstein

185

Joey Hanson

160

Jake Turner

155

Mogli DeWald

120

Murphy Hansen

120

Chance Galante

105

Mauser Lopez

102

Savannah Wolff

100

Marshal Fortson

85

Sundae Reed

80

Jackie Pilarski

70

Jake Pilarski

70

Remedy Pilarski

70

Abby Lavin

60

Charlie Mortensen

50

Ginger Suh Quimby

50

Angel Warner

30

Desi Scroggins

30

Harley Waterloo

30

Jessica Baud

30

Merlin Kisiel

30

Riley Robinson

30

Buckeye Belle Eaton

25

Ruby Warner

25

Saffron Brandstetter

25

Zoe Brandstetter

25

Harley Giazzon

20

Maggie Smith

20

Mischa Brown

20

Angel Cavella

15

Angel Treglia

15

Crystal No Last Name

15

Little Bear Hain

15

Max Waterloo

15

Chloe Bear Forster

10

Lexi Sutphen

10

Rinti du Plessis

10

Uma Neet-Whitaker

10

Bailey Sandberg

5

Bebe Moroz

5

Ingrid Neet-Whitaker

5

Kanye Parry

5

Because of your generous donations, we will be able to fund another research study with The Broad Institute this year. Our top 13 winners will determine which study we fund, and we’ll announce that soon here on our blog and our website, so please bookmark both.

Our latest totals as of Tuesday, August 6. Yes, in the wee small hours of the morning, 4:00 AM CDT.

Please bookmark our blog. Keep in mind totals can change rapidly as we move into the final days. This year’s contest ends Thursday, August 8 at 12:00 Midnight EDT. Please plan accordingly. I’ll be posting totals again tomorrow and, of course, Thursday throughout the day.

If you need to make an off-line donation (a check from a friend or cash), please email me (erich@2milliondogs.org) and let me know. I can make the donation for you. But these donations HAVE to clear before we can mark them paid and applied to your dog’s votes.

Good Luck to everyone and Puppy Up! And remember, whether your pup wins or not, he or she will appear in the calendar in the “Gallery Of Dogs” pages. No one gets left behind.